At close of play at The Oval today, Stuart Broad announced his retirement from test cricket. He's not out overnight and has one more innings to bowl in, but his test figures currently stand at 3656 runs and 602 wickets.

You can see his finest hour above. He always was a bowler who, if he took one wicket, was likely to get two or three more in short order.

At one time he looked likely to develop into a genuine test all rounder, but he rather lost his confidence after being struck in the face. As bowler or batsman, he was always entertaining.

He was first mentioned on this blog in 2007, when he was still playing for Leicestershire. I described him then as Stuart "Should have been picked for the Ashes" Broad, referring to the 2006/7 tour of Australia.

Fortunately, he was picked for the Ashes after that. Remarkably, the last home test against Australia that he didn't play in was the final test of 2005, when Kevin Pietersen's innings secured a draw and the Ashes. He is one of the immortals.